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Soundgarden's Chris Cornell Says Rock Music Has 'Lost It's Place'

Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has opened up about his
experiences with drug abuse and spoke about the decline of rock
music in a new interview with Details. Cornell was part of an era
of music dominated by guitar bands and admits he's watched the
genre fall from mainstream consciousness.

Speaking with Details, Chris Cornell says that rock music
has "definitely lost its place at the center of the musical
universe.". When asked about the state of rock music in todays
climate, Cornell added, "When I was growing up in the late
Seventies, everyone could identify the five or 10 bands that formed
the center. Even if you preferred the fringe - The Clash, over,
say, Van Halen - you still knew what the center was. Now kids turn
on the radio and hear Eminem or Kanye, so that's what they
gravitate towards."

Cornell also says that he thinks modern technology has played a
major role, adding, "They're making music on iPhones. Everything's
fractured. The reason there's no modern-day Shakespeare is because
he didn't have anything to do except sit in a room with a candle
and think."

Cornell also went on to speak about his past drug use, saying,
"When you pick up the pipe for the first time, you don't know that
that's your fate. The moment isn't that dramatic. And then that was
it - I didn't want to care anymore."

The singer admits he doesn't know why his generation of
musicians was hit so much harder by drugs than previous ones,
explaining, "Those bands somehow had the ability to be completely
fucked up all the time and still function. They could play an
amazing guitar solo even though they could barely walk. The
Eighties killed that - everyone was doing coke."

Chris Cornell is set for a return with Soundgarden later this
fall, as they continue work on their first new album in 16 years.
No release date has been set yet, although sources close to the
band suggest it will be some point in 2012.

This week saw the band offer a preview of a new song called
'Live To Rise', taken from "The Avengers" soundtrack, also
featuring new tracks from Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch
amongst others. The album arrives on May 1, three days before the
movie opens on May 4.